Mumbai: The judicial panel probing the
Adarsh Housing Society scam on Wednesday rapped Kanhaiyalal Gidwani,
one of the chief promoters of the society and former Congress
MLC, for giving "evasive" answers during his deposition.
"It is found that the witness (Gidwani) has been giving
evasive answers to the questions put to him and he feigns
failure of memory to every question," the two-member inquiry
commission observed.
Gidwani is being examined by advocate Dipan Merchant, who
appears for the panel.
The commission`s remark came when Merchant was
questioning Gidwani as to whether the recommendation to
include 40 per cent civilians in the society was made by the
society itself or by then Revenue Minister Ashok Chavan.
Gidwani first said the suggestion was made by the society
and accepted by Chavan, but later he said he did not remember
who gave the suggestion.
"In 2000, I along with brigadier M M Wanchoo and R C
Thakur, Adarsh`s secretary, met then revenue minister Ashok
Chavan. He (Chavan) told us specifically that the government
had framed a specific policy in respect of allotment of
government land to societies. The policy was contained in
government resolution dated July 9, 1999," Gidwani said,
adding there was no discussion about inclusion of civilians.
The former Congress MLC further said that in the
resolution there is no reference to introduction of 40 per
cent civilians as members of co-operative housing societies.
When asked how civilians were then permitted to be
members of the high-rise and who made the suggestion in this
regard, Gidwani claimed he could not recall.
Chavan, who is named as an accused by CBI in its FIR
in the case, is alleged to have recommended inclusion of 40
per cent civilians in Adarsh by allegedly misused his official
position.
PTI
